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Easily find the MAC address of an Amazon Dash Button
Every now and then Amazon puts their Dash buttons on sale for as little as $0.99. At that price it's hard to pass them up for little buttons to trigger whatever you might want in your home automation setup. I've written before on how to get these connected to…
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Notification when a Windows Media Center Recording starts using Home Assistant
I'm a long time user (and believer) in Windows Media Center as the primary method to consume Cable TV. Coupled with a cable card tuner such as the SiliconDust HDHomeRun PRIME you can create a fantastic, flexible user and stable Cable TV experience with Windows 7 and Windows Media Center.…
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Adding a Z-Wave Door Sensor to your Backyard Gate
I spent some time looking for a Z-Wave sensor for my backyard gate. I didn't find much for something that was rated for outdoors and all weather so I made my own. The key here is utilizing my favorite Z-Wave Door Sensors by EcoLink because they have an internal connection…
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Leveraging Home Assistant During Severe Weather
Let's take a look at how I started to use the alerts monitored condition of the Weather Underground component in Home Assistant. I remember when this functionality was first included in Home Assistant. I was very excited to have this additional data point in Home Assistant because unless I was…
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Sending Channel Combination Commands with the Harmony Hub in Home Assistant
With the Harmony Remote Component in Home Assistant, it makes it possible to send commands to devices controlled by your Harmony Hub using automations and scripts. Here's a script that will send a series of numbers representing a channel and the "OK" button which on my Windows Media Center PC…
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Proactive Future Rain Notifications in Home Assistant with Dark Sky
I hate leaving the house and getting caught in the rain without a rain jacket. I don't check as much as I should before I leave in the morning and even if I watch my local morning news, I'll still probably forget. This is why I made this automation and…
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Connecting Amazon Dash Buttons to Home Assistant (via Dasher)
Amazon recently has been having a number of sales on their Amazon Dash buttons making these little IoT devices able to be picked up for 99 cents. Using a great open source program called Dasher, you can use these buttons to control pretty much anything in Home Assistant (or any…
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Home Assistant Automations based on Solar Elevation Angle
I use Home Assistant for all of my home automation and control needs. If you haven't heard of Home Assistant, it's pretty awesome and it supports a ton of stuff. One of the neat things you can do on the automation side is control components based on the Sun. The…
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Make your Doorbell smart for about $27
I recently became a first time homeowner and like most people I've been allured by the Ring Video Doorbell. Despite the steep price, I have thoroughly considered purchasing one and after plenty of homework I decided that the Ring Doorbell wasn't for me. There are 3 main reasons why I…
Brent Saltzman
Interested in all things technology with a passion for analog, design, audio, and anything that sparks creativity and imagination.